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Obama, Romney spar over issues

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Story highlights

Both Obama and Romney quickly dispensed with niceties of town hall format

Romney struggled with question on differences between him and Bush

Challenger got caught up on technicality on Benghazi question

Romney had more moment than Obama in which he didn't look in command

Ahead of Tuesday night's debate in Hempstead, New York, people wondered whether the town hall format, in which voters tend to place a premium on the appearance of civility, might limit the opportunity for attacks.

But niceness isn't an attribute that tends to top the priority list for most New Yorkers; it was clear from the first moments of the debate that both men came ready to brawl.

In Denver two weeks ago, the president pointed to areas in which he agreed with his opponent, allowing Romney to position himself squarely in centrist territory. He wasted precious minutes on long, winding policy responses, leaving most of the tweet-ready replies to his opponent. He missed obvious pushback opportunities and spent a good chunk of the debate on defense.

Photos:The second presidential debate

Photos:The second presidential debate

The second presidential debate – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama shake hands following the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Tuesday, October 16, moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley. See the best photos of the first presidential debate.

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Photos:The second presidential debate

The second presidential debate – President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama embrace after the debate.

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The second presidential debate – U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney point fingers at each other.

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The second presidential debate – U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speak over each other.

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The second presidential debate – President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Romney point the finger at each other.

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The second presidential debate – CNN's Candy Crowley moderates the second presidential debate between President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

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The second presidential debate – President Obama and Romney clash during the debate.

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The second presidential debate – Romney and President Obama interrupt each other during the debate.

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The second presidential debate – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama debate.

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The second presidential debate – U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney both speak at the same time.

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The second presidential debate – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Obama go head to head.

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The second presidential debate – Romney gestures to make a point as President Obama looks on.

The second presidential debate – President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Romney shake hands before the start of the debate.

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The second presidential debate – Moderator Candy Crowley of CNN speaks to the audience prior to the start of a town hall-style presidential debate.

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The second presidential debate – Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, speaks with members of the audience before the start of the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Tuesday, October 16.

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The second presidential debate – First lady Michelle Obama awaits the start of the second presidential debate.

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The second presidential debate – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann await the start of the second presidential debate in a holding room.

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The second presidential debate – The audience gathers in the stands prior to the start of the presidential debate on Tuesday.

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The second presidential debate – Co-chairs Frank Fahrenkopf, left, and Mike McCurry of the Commission on Presidential Debates speak in the lead up to the town hall-style debate.

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The second presidential debate – Audience members take photographs while they wait for the debate to begin.

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The second presidential debate – Members of the audience have taken their seats.

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This time, every Obama answer was sound bite-laden and aggressive. And this time, it was Romney who whiffed on some easy pitches.

He struggled on defense. The Romney campaign began the year knowing that the key question for swing voters was likely to be how would his presidency be different than George W. Bush's? But Tuesday, it sounded a bit like the governor was answering the question for the very first time.

His response included an agenda -- domestic drilling, low taxes, regulatory reform -- that could have doubled for Bush's and a swipe at Obamacare. That left the task of defining those differences to President Obama, who got the chance for a Denver do-over on ideological framing, painting Romney as a candidate to the right of his Republican predecessor.

And he missed out on opportunities to go on offense.

The Obama administration has faced some tough questions over the past few weeks about the security provided to the U.S. diplomatic staff in Benghazi, Libya. And the president himself didn't have any fresh answers Tuesday.

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Candy Crowley on the candidates' tension

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But Romney let himself get caught up on a technicality: the question of exactly when the president had used the word "terror" to describe the incident.

Romney could have put the president back on defense by arguing whether his Rose Garden language the day after the incident had gone far enough or focusing on the overall effectiveness of the White House's response. Instead, the conversation got stuck on a bit of terrain where the president felt far more secure: exactly when the word "terror" had first made an appearance.

And Romney's reaction left voters with the impression that he wasn't familiar with all the facts behind his attack.

That's important because debates aren't just graded on substance; style counts.

Obama's first debate performance was poorer than it looked on paper because the note-taking, the hesitation and the downcast gaze all contributed to the impression of a candidate adrift. Romney only had a few moments where he didn't appear fully in command, a far better showing this week than the president had in Denver.

But he had more of those moments than Obama did on a night that marked the last, best chance for the two candidates to face off on domestic policy before Election Day.